How do you define Success?

One of my biggest problems with society today is the general acceptance of a narrow definition of success. I think most of the world believes “success” means having a job with a big salary, driving a luxury vehicle, living in an expensive house and then showing it off via social media. This is bullshit and needs to stop.

But I’m not here to tell you what success means—I’m here to encourage you to define it for yourself—and then accept that definition as the truth. Stick to your guns. Map out your goals, make an action list and then go get it. And don’t let anyone tell you different, because you will be tested, and there will always be doubters. I can’t tell you how many people told me I’d never be a Navy SEAL, or make it in business.

As I mention in a recent “Power of Thought” Video on my Instagram page—everyone should have their own definition of success. For a friend of mine, it’s globetrotting around the world and writing to support his lifestyle. I’ve met a lot of unhappy monetarily wealthy people—so money isn’t everything. And sometimes it’s nothing. But of course, if your list includes driving a nice car, having a big house and any other luxury the modern world offers—that’s great. If you’ve crossed paths with me or come across my writing in the past, you know I’m a proponent of focusing on yourself and executing your list. Again, it’s a list you own.

For a lot of people in this world—making people believe they’re successful takes up so much time, energy and resources—they’re generally unhappy outside of the public eye or away from their friends and family. Don’t fake it, start focusing on what gives you happiness and pursue that.

I’ve enjoyed some success in life—some truly significant milestones. But none of those achievements came easy and most of them involved failure, a lot of hard times and fall on your face failures but, also incredible lessons learned. As a Navy SEAL, I learned real fast that pain is temporary and learning from your mistakes is invaluable. And in the military, the business world and unfortunately life in general—pain, failure, learning and success all come as a package. What you do with that package is your choice.

What are you doing with your list? How are you going to define and achieve success? What failures, missteps or adversity did you encounter? And most importantly, how did you get through the negative, turn it into a positive and persevere?